Device useful in giving intravenous injections



P 18, 1956 M. M. MOINNERNY 2,763,264

DEVICE USEFUL IN GIVING INTRAVENOUS INJECTIONS Filed Oct. 10, 1952 INVENTOR MwrwllwMM-Zbmeng gum, M M J ATT RNEYS important for a device of the type in question.

United States Patent DEVICE USEFUL IN GIVING INTRAVENOUS INJECTIONS This invention relates to a device useful in giving intravenous injections and is directed to the problem of providing a practical device which will both support and restrain a patients arm or leg during the giving of blood transfusions, intravenous feedings and the like.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that patients who are being given blood transfusions or intravenous feedings (such as glucose or saline solutions) are often restless and unable to control their. extremities thereby causing the needles placed in the veins of the arms or legs to slip out before the injection is complete. It is thus frequently necessary that doctors have to be called to replace the needles. In an effort to meet this problem, hospitals have improvised arrangements such as square boards covered with towels, sheets and adhesive to bind the arms and legs of patients during the giving of intravenous injections. best of my knowledge, are relatively crude, expensive and uncomfortable to the patient.

Even in those instances where the patient is able to control his arm or leg during the time when he is being given an intravenous injection, there is always the Problem of making the patient as comfortable as possible and hence comfort to the patient is one factor which is very This is apparent when it is considered that intravenous injections usually take appreciable time during all' of -which the patient must keep his arm or leg in a substantially fixed position. Accordingly, to be practical for the purpose intended, such a supporting and restraining device should be capable of restraining or substantially immobilizing the patients arm or leg, should be comfortable to the patient, should be a sanitary device which can be relatively easily cleaned for re-use, and should be relatively inexpensive since a fairly large number of such devices Will be stocked in a hospital. 1

It is therefore an object of my inventionto provide a new and improved device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm or leg during the giving of an intravenous injection.

It is another object of my invent-ion to provide such a device which will securely immobilize the patients arm or leg to the extent that it cannot be bent at the elbow or knee.

It is still, a further object of my invention to provide such a device which is comfortable, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and sanitary.

Briefly described, a preferred embodiment of my invention comprises an elongated substantially rigid platelike member which'is concave-convex so that the patients arm or leg may rest in the hollow provided by the concave surface. The concave surface is covered with a layer of cushioning material, such as sponge rubber, and the entire plate-like member, including the cushioning layer, is completely enclosed by a removable washable cover. Strap means extend from the plate-like member, through the removable washable cover, and enable the device to be attached to a patients arm or leg. The length of However, such arrangements, to the the substantially rigid supporting member is such that it will extend from above the elbow to adjacent the wrist of a patients arm, thus substantially preventing bending of the arm at the elbow.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the attached drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a pictorial view showing a preferred embodiment of my invention attached to a patients arm for supporting and restraining said arm during the giving of an intravenous injection;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment of my invention shown in Fig. l, the retaining straps being shown in extended position, partly broken away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is-a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 with one of the strap members being shown in closed position.

Referring to the drawing, it will be noted that the preferred embodiment of my invention shown there comprises, as its principal components, an elongated substantially rigid plate-like supporting member 1, a layer of cushioning material 2, a removable cover designated generally by the reference numeral 3, and a pair of attaching straps designated generally by the reference numeral 4.

The elongated substantially rigid supporting member 1 is preferably a plate-like piece of light-weight metal, such as an aluminum steel alloy, which although light-weight is sufficiently strong and rigid for the purpose intended. This supporting member 1 is preferably substantially rectangular as viewed from either above or below as shown in Fig. 2, and is preferably concavo-convex in crosssection as shown in Fig. 4. The concave side 5 is the upper side of the supporting member 1 and the convex side 6-is the lower side of the supporting member. Thus, supporting member 1 has a hollow or valley extending throughout its length thereby enabling the upper side of the device to readily receive a patients arm or leg.

In order to provide comfort to the patient, substantially the entire upper side 5 of member 1 is covered by a layer of cushioning material 2 preferably permanently attached to the supporting member by means not shown. A suitable material which I have utilized for the cushioning layer 2 is sponge rubber but a cushioning material substantially equivalent to the sponge rubber could be employed, if desired. Preferably the relative thickness of the cushioning layer will be in accordance with the proportions indicated in Figs. 3 and 4.

In order to enclose the supporting member 1 and the cushioning layer 2 and to provide an outer surface which can-be readily cleaned, both the supporting member and cushioning layer are enclosed by a removable cover 3 as shown in the drawing. This cover 3 is in the shape of an elongated pocket having an upper side 7 on which the patients arm or leg rests and a lower side 8 which is located beneath the convex lower side 6 of support member 1. End 9 of cover 3 is an open end which is adapted to be closed by a flap extension 10 of side 7 as is shown in Figs. l-3. Button type fasteners 11 are suitably employed in order to snap-fasten flap 10 to the lower side 8 of cover 3. Thus, cover 3 totally encloses the concaveconvex substantially rigid supporting member 1 and the cushioning layer 2 which is attached to the upper side 5 of the supporting member. It is obvious that by unfastening snaps 11 the supporting member 1 and cushioning layer 2 may be Withdrawn from the outer cover 3 whereupon the latter may be cleaned for re-use. I preferably make the outer cover of a suitable plastic material and, if desired, this material can be such as to provide additional cushioning for the patients arm or leg.

The device is attached to a patients arm or leg by means of a plurality of straps. In the preferred embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing I employ two white webbed straps 4 which are attached intermediate their ends to the convex lower side 6 of supporting member 1 by means of rivets 12 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. One strap is attached adjacent one end of the supporting member 1 and the other strap is attached adjacent the opposite end of supporting member 1. It is apparent from an inspection of Figs. 2 and 4 that the rivets 12 are located substantially on the longitudinal center line of supporting member 1. This means that the straps may be moved freely with respect to the supporting member. While I show the straps as being attached to supporting member 1 by means of rivets 12-it is of course apparent that other suitable means could be provided to so attach the straps.

The ,lower side 8 of outer cover 3 is provided with a pair of slit-like openings through which the free ends of each strap may be passed when the cover 3 is slipped over supporting member 1. Thus, the lower side 8 of cover 3 has a pair of similarly shaped slit-like openings 13 and 14 associated with the strap 4 located adjacent the closed end of the cover and a similar pair of slit-like openings 15 and 16 associated with the strap 4 located adjacent the opposite or open end of the cover. In placing the cover over the supporting member 1, the ends 17 of straps 4 are passed through openings 13 and 15 and the ends 18 are passed through openings 14 and 16. Each strap 4 has a buckle 19 connected to its end 18 and has a plurality of eyelets 20 adjacent its other end 17 whereby the ends of the straps may be fastened together. It is thus obvious that the straps may be securely fastened about a patients arm or leg.

When it is desired to remove the device from the patients arm or leg this may be done quickly by unbuckling the straps 4 whereupon the entire device may be readily taken away from the patients arm or leg. The outer cover 3 may then be removed, if desired, at a later time by unsnapping fasteners 11 and drawing support member 1 from within cover 3, the ends of the straps 4 being passed through openings 13-16. The cover may then be cleaned and the device reassembled or a new cover may be provided if desired.

It will accordingly be seen that I have invented a device for supporting and restraining a patients arm or leg during the giving of an intravenous injection which 'is a comfortable device due to its shape and yet one that is effective'to suitably restrain the patients arm or leg while the injection is being given. Furthermore, my device is a practical device since it is made up of relatively few parts and is capable of being kept sanitary.

By way of illustration only, since the dimensions could be changed if desired, I have found that by making the device approximately 18 inches long and approximately inches wide across the concave surface, it provides a practical support which is adapted to extend far enough beyond the elbow, for example, of a patient to restrain the patient against bending his arm at the elbow. This can be observed by viewing Fig. l where the end 21 of the device extends beyond the elbow of the arm 22 shown there with a strap 4 being located at the other side of the elbow. The device extends to adjacent the hand 23 as shown in Fig. 1 and thus supports the entire forearm of the patient.

"While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to be restricted solely thereto but that I do intend to cover all modifications thereof which would be readily apparent to ,one skilled in the art and which come within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Whatl claim as my invention is:

1. A device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm during the giving of an intravenous injection, said device comprising an elongated substantially rigid plate-like supporting member, a slip-over readily detachable and reusable cover for said supporting member, said supporting member being located in a pocket defined by said cover, the edges of said supporting member being covered by said'cover, and a plurality of strap members extending from said supporting member for attaching said device to a patients arm, each of said straps extending through an opening defined by said cover.

2. A device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm during the giving of an intravenous injection, said device comprising an elongated substantially rigid plate-like supporting member, a removable slipover reusable cover totally enclosing said supporting member, and a plurality of strap members extending from said supporting member and through said cover for strapping said device to a patients arm, said cover having openings therein through which said strap members pass.

3. A device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm during the giving of an intravenous injection, said device comprising an elongated substantially rigid concavo-convex supporting member having a concave upper surface and a convex lower surface, a removable cover totally enclosing said supporting member, and a plurality of straps extending from said supporting member and through said cover for attaching said device to a patients arm, said straps being connected to the convex side of said supporting member and said cover having slit-like openings therein through which said straps pass whereby when a patient places his arm in the hollow formed by the concave surface of the supporting member said straps may be passed around the patients arm to firmly strap the device to the patients arm.

4. A device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm during the giving of an intravenous injection, said device comprising an elongated rigid platelike supporting member having an upper surface and a lower surface, a layer of cushioning material attached to said upper surface, and a slip-over readily detachable washable cover totally-enclosing said supporting member and said cushioning layer, the length of said supporting member being'such that the supporting member extends along the patients arm from above the elbow to adjacent the hand when the device is attached to a patients arm.

5. A device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm during the giving of an intravenous injection, said device comprising an elongated rigid plate-like supporting member having an upper surface and a lower surface, a layer of cushioning material attached to and substantially covering the upper surface of said supporting member, a readily detachable washable slip-over outer cover covering said cushioning layer and extending about the edges of said supporting member, and strap means extending from said supporting member for attaching said device to a patients arm, the length of said supporting member being such that the supporting member extends along the patients arm from above the elbow to adjacent the hand when the device is so attached.

6. A device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm during the giving of an intravenous injection, said device comprising an elongated substantially rigid concavo-convex supporting member having a concave upper side and a convex lower side, a layer of cushioning material attached to and substantially completely covering the concave upper side of said supporting member, a washable slip-over outer cover totally enclosing said supporting member and said cushioning layer, and a-plurality of straps for attaching said device to a patients arm, said straps being connected to and extending from the convex lower side of said supporting member and said outer cover having a plurality of openings .therein through which said straps pass.

7. A device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm during the giving of an intravenous injection, said device comprising an elongated substantially rigid concavo-convex supporting member, the concave side being the upper side of said supporting member and the convex side being the lower side of said supporting member, a layer of cushioning material attached to and substantially covering the concave upper side of said supporting member, a washable slip-over outer cover enclosing said supporting member and cushioning layer, said outer cover being in the shape of an elongated pocket having an opening at one end into which an end of said supporting member may be inserted when it is desired to slip the cover over the supporting member, and a plurality of straps for attaching said device to a patients arm, each of said straps having two free ends and being connected to the convex lower side of said supporting member intermediate said free ends, said outer cover having a pair of slit-like openings associated with each strap and through which the free ends of the strap may be passed when the supporting member is being covered by the outer cover.

8. In a device useful for supporting and restraining a patients arm during the giving of an intravenous injection, an elongated substantially rigid concavo-convex supporting member having a concave upper side and a convex lower side, a layer of cushioning material attached to and substantially completely covering the concave upper side of said supporting member, a plurality of straps extending from the convex lower side of said supporting member for attaching said device to a patients arm, each of said straps having two free ends, and means connecting each of said straps to the convex lower side of said supporting member, said means being located substantially on the longitudinal center line of said supporting member whereby said straps may be moved freely with respect to said supporting member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,266,230 Mazzeo et a1 Dec. 16, 1941 2,338,424 Giardini Jan. 4, 1944 2,551,617 May Bert May 8, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 138,015 Great Britain Jan. 29, 1920 

